Only once
by Blimey oO
Summary: Ginny's back to the Chamber and spends some time with Tom until Harry steps on the scene. Tom and Harry make a deal which might bring Harry death's speedy wings.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. "Beautiful Stranger" is Madonna's.  
  
  
  
Beautiful Stranger  
  
  
  
Ginny stared at it; luminous, roaring, moving as if it was caught in the middle of a turbulent, devastating thunder storm, the green flames danced savagely in the fireplace. Green...exactly like when someone put a piece of copper in the flames and it turned to that fascinating shade of green that belonged to Harry's eyes.  
  
Harry's eyes...They resembled polished gems which might've belonged to a king's royal treasure, but certainly not to an ordinary boy's face. And yet, if Ginny concentrated hard enough, she could visualise them becoming blue. Not any kind of blue. Deep and penetrating. Once you had been captured by its persistent gaze, you could almost imagine yourself on a deserted beach in northern Ireland or Scotland, your feet sinking into the wet, mud like pale sand, your full attention captive of the ocean's soothing rustle of the dark, midnight blue waves. Like the ocean's cold temperature, the eyes' freezing calmness could root you to the spot - unable of braking eye contact with them.  
  
These unnatural eyes had haunted her for years, ever since the episode inside the Chamber of Secrets, where the most cuddly looking boy had suddenly popped up out of a leather bound diary – the one of Tom Riddle. Ginny closed her eyes shut, trying to remember what had happened. There she was, waking up of some kind of a trance, which placed her in an unreal world of shadows and blurred shapes. Her breath almost froze, her heart barely beat anymore. It was like being caught between a dream world and reality, where you could not act consciously.  
  
Slowly, the shadows had begun to take shape, her vision sharpened considerably. The blue eyed boy had surveyed her. His eyes alight with the urge of manipulation, lips twitched on one side expressing his amusement. Ginny had realised she'd been goggling at him like an unreachable god, a wild and desperate lust was incinerating her very heart. There was a blind longing to hold that magnificent body close to hers, so close, one would have thought, they were falling into each other, as if their lives depended on it.  
  
As her feet set on something solid - stoneflags - Tom then grinned widely, and Ginny had a very funny feeling her gaping had given her away. She found herself staring passionately at his unblinking eyes, transfixed by their icy beauty.  
  
A sudden shiver ran down her spine, as if the eyes had the magical gift of freezing people to the spot, making them feel as if they had been transported to the North Pole. Tom was scaring her. His impeccable face features were stinging her sixth sense with alert, something was extremely wrong here. That was not the sympathetic school boy who owned the black diary, not the guy she used to confess all of her fears and complaints to. This, Ginny shivered again as Tom started approaching her, was a madman, a hidden desire of a maniac making his eyes glitter maliciously.  
  
His footsteps echoed in the Chamber. Ginny broke eye contact, for once she had heard, looking someone straight in the eye meant fight, which was the last thing she wanted to find here, especially since they were alone and escape was out of the question.  
  
Dreading what future might be waiting for her, Ginny bit her lip, as she noticed how Tom was standing upright in front of her, his brown leather shoes touching her black plain robes slightly.  
  
Tom bent slowly touching Ginny's hair softly, his delicate fingers playing with one of her locks, apparently fascinated by its unusually brilliant colour, resembling molten lava remarkably.  
  
Ginny was shaking, as if there was an earthquake and she was caught in the middle of it. She herself could not define the source of it, though. Fear. Passion. Fury. Parts of a well mixed potion, a potion which contained all of her feelings and was constantly being changed, according to which new ingredient you added to it.  
  
Tom had been whispering in her ear now, words she could not understand. They were English, yet she felt herself being at some other place at the time, not really in her body at all, but somewhere inside a swimming pool or a lake, where you had no real sense of yourself, where you could not move nor breathe nor hear what others might be saying. The dominant wish of survival urged her to reach the lake's surface, where fresh oxygen would fill her lungs again.  
  
The surface...It reflected her, she had to get there, she was trapped. Trapped. The surface moved ever closer, her air supply was almost over, she'd die. But then, the surface vanished. Gone. Yet the requested rush of air filled her mouth, somehow very wet, like fog, yet extremely warm and comfy, like the vaporised water of a sauna.  
  
With a jolt, Ginny realised Tom's mouth was over hers, their tongues dancing like wild Indians from the Amazon Rainforest celebrating in their cave. Tom's eyes were the surface she'd been waiting for, his breath was her oxygen, she couldn't release him without drowning. She needed him beside her, his every body cell, thoughts, wishes and dreams would be shared with her.  
  
Unfortunately for her, a certain hero decided to make his appearance.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" exclaimed one twelve year old Harry Potter, pointing an accusing finger towards them. 


	2. Oops! I think we might've been spotted!

Author's note: Hello y'all! First off, let's get the disclaimer over with. The Chamber of Secrets belongs to JK. Jk and no one else. So do Ginny, Tom (you think that if i bribed JK, she'd give him to me?), Harry and Riddle's Diary. Phew. That's it. The plot is mine. I didn't know what I should do with the chapter last time. Writer's block. But now everything should be clear now.   
  
So here's the next chapter. Um...no real snogging here (although it was intentioned 2 weeks ago. Maybe later), but some meetings will be coming up, so will some romance. I guess. Lol. And I'd like to thank my reviewers for well, reviewing last chapter. I think I will edit it though. It doesn't fit this chapter's style anymore.   
  
Also, I still haven't got the hang of posting my fics, so if anything goes wrong, it's not my fault. It's my bloody computer which doesn0't seem to have txt files. Read on now! ^.~  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Oops! I do think we might've been spotted!  
  
  
"What the hell are you two doing?"   
  
Startled, Ginny opened her eyes, caught a glimpse of Harry and tried to tear her lips away from Tom's who didn't let her go but just smirked somewhere above her. She didn't feel exactly what you call well, somehow everything seemed a little faded, save her own thoughts and feelings. And having a face glued to yours while you're nearly fainting does not necessarily escape you from noticing it.  
  
Tom did eventually let go of her, yet as soon as he did, Ginny immediately wished he didn't, for a sudden coldness overtook her like winter's snow.   
  
Harry, of course, had no idea whatsoever what kind of indecent scene he had just run into. Or at least, indecent it would be for his young person. Why, for our intrepid hero had been expecting nothing but to find Ginny torn into pieces by the Basilisk, or not finding her at all. But Alas! Destiny favoured Tom yet again, as it seems to appreciate watching dramas and disturbing confrontations instead of boring acts of chivalry like 400 years ago (that's probably why Destiny's chosen to get rid of the ogres and kidnapped princesses and moved along to World Wars and growing corruption taking over the world).  
  
So little Harry stared. Stared at Ginny. Stared at...the boy. Whoever the guy was. Surely it couldn't be...not Tom Riddle. Right?   
  
Riddle seemed to understand Harry's confusion and only nodded, turning his head down to glance at Ginny, curling her locks between his long fingers, occasionally letting it go and going for another lock.   
  
Also moving his eyes downwards towards Ginny, Harry noticed somehow dumbstruck that Ginny wasn't wearing Hogwart's usual plain black robes, but a rich purple dress robe of a designer's shop, which managed not only to make Ginny look taller, but older than her 11 years as well. Her shoulders were bare, and the dress seemed to be about to drop, but was magically attached to her body. She looked stunning, really (given the fact that she was about to faint). Harry vaguely wondered where she'd got the dress, but quickly forgot all about it as rather nasty thoughts took place in his mind.  
  
Harry couldn't shake off the feeling that he had walked into something very, very inappropriate. Not to mention that his mind refused to work properly now. It was jammed and did not intend to pick up on the evidences.   
  
First and foremost, he asked himself, who the hell is that kid really? More importantly, what exactly is he doing with Ginny? And why was Ginny looking at me as if I was a very ugly flobberworm and as if he was some kind of a Hollywood star. And...why the heck is that idiot laughing at me?  
  
What Harry hadn't realised until now, was that all this time he had been musing everything out loud, making the older teenager almost crack up at his ignorance of the world's most finest sins.   
  
"Feeling a bit sick, Harry Potter? Maybe you shouldn't have come in without knocking, you know. Very impolite that was, Harry." Tom's eyes were alight with his personal sadistic joy as he went on.  
  
"Had you come any later, Harry, you might've had seen something your poor mind would not be capable of dealing with." Tom casually looked at his fingernails, as if he were examining them, looking for dirtiness. Finding of course nothing.  
  
He stared at Harry again, his chin now resting on the silent Ginny's head, who wished Harry would just go. She didn't want to feel cold anymore. Her warmth came all from Tom. She was mortally afraid that if he let her go, she'd sink into herself and leave this world forever.  
  
"But...Maybe you'd like to join us, Harry Potter? Why not? Would you not like to have a little fun?"  
  
Tom laughed gently into Ginny's hair. That kid'd rather burst a slug and eat its intestines (if it had any) than join... uh...their special party.   
  
Harry's eyes went, as Tom predicted, wide with sheer horror. Sticking his tongue out and shuting his eyes so tightly, it hurt him, he muttered words which might've sounded childish, yet fitted the situation perfectly: "Ewww. Really...yuck."  
  
Harry made a mental note to himself, never to get involved, in any way, no matter how appealing the invitation might sound, with a Slytherin. Ever.   
  
He couldn't avoid wondering just how Slytherins entertained themselves in that awfully cold dungeon. Not sure he should befriend with that boy, he decided to ask him after all. He had caught the Heir after all, even if it was the wrong one, but no one really cared about that.   
  
"So...uh...Tom, um...how...I mean...". Oh my, Harry thought. This isn't getting any better... "What...Do you, Slytherins, ever...um...you know."  
  
Harry could not believe his nerves. He was embarrassed before he even spoke the words. He only hoped Riddle had caught on and would just give him a tranquillising answer.   
  
He did not, however, even show signs that he understood what he meant. At least Tom didn't want to show him he had indeed understood what he meant. The knowing smirk which was playing on his lips demonstrated that he had very well indeed got the point. He wasn't going to let the chance to see that little brat, an orphan by that as well, get away that easily.  
  
"No, I don't know, Harry. Do express yourself. I'd be delighted to hear you out and answer any doubts going inside your mind."  
  
Yet an idea was growing inside his mind. One of those which don't fade until you've brewed an utterly fail proof, corrupted and effective plan out of it. Yes, Tom thought as he looked back at his leather diary. Why not? If it worked....If he could fool Harry into it, it might not be necessary to dispose of Ginny and he'd be able to wander around school without arising suspiction. He might even...Tom's heart leapt as he thought back at his own days at Hogwarts, his mind drifting to someone very special...An almost human smile crept upon his features. He'd see her again...   
  
They'd only have to change places...Simple, really, if he got a wand.   
  
He had to act now. Harry was obviously still trying to find words, but Tom's patience snapped. Ginny was about to die here, he couldn't afford that now. Holding her tightly against his own body, as if to keep her warm, he offered Harry the solution to his now constant stuttering.  
  
"Maybe you'd like me to show it to you? Like I did before inside my diary?"  
Harry breathed rapidly. Did he want to be sucked into that diary again? Surely he was curious, he wanted to know what life was like in Slytherin, since the hat itself almost placed him there. But wait....Harry thought and eyed Tom suspiciously. Why would he want me inside his Diary now that he's not in there anymore?   
  
Harry didn't have much more time to reflect upon it, though, for Tom had started speaking again. The softness in his voice gone, yet it still concealed his intentions prettily. Harry did eventually get the feeling that the boy was getting a tad bit mad at his stupidity. Not that he was as bad as Gilderoy Lockhart, of course, but he was dealing with a until now sleeping dragon. He might not want to know what'd happen to him if he unleashed the monster...  
  
"Afraid, Harry Potter? Afraid that one might hurt you? Scared that you might never come back?"  
  
The words just hung there. Time froze for Harry. He didn't know what to do. Why did he want to enter the diary anyway? Weariness faded and gave place to subdued rage.   
  
"I've always thought Gryffindors were brave, Harry. That they'd rather play the hero and get themselves killed instead of keeping their noses out of other people's business and getting a move with their own lives...Seems I'm mistaken...Not something that happens often, mind you."  
  
Tom's voice had grown a steely kind of soft again. That boy needed persuasion. And if hurting his feelings was what it'd take, then so be it.  
  
"Gryffindors...The all mighty Brave Hearts of Hogwarts. No brains at all. Never think. Just act. Act and die. They don't even know why...Maybe it's a family thing that you're not a proper Gryffindor. Look at you, Harry. You're more of a Slytherin than a Gryffindor. You know that."  
  
Harry did not look away. Tom was penetrating his mind with his eyes. Somehow like Dumbledore did, yet it was in a much more suave way. Dumbledore's stare seemed to ignite a fire in his eyes. Riddle's just turned icy. All friendship never got inside them.   
  
"The hat put me in Gryffindor for a reason, Riddle."  
  
"Because your reckless naivety would be crushed inside that house. Think, Harry... Think of your beloved parents...are you as brave as them? Would they accept you as a Slytherin?"  
  
Harry didn't reply. Somehow Tom was right. The hat did want him in Slytherin. In bloody Slytherin. If he hadn't begged - Harry shivered at that word - to be sorted into another House, he'd be a totally other person by now.  
  
"Would they, Harry?" Tom repeated. His eyes stared unblinkingly at Harry, waiting for his response, already knowing he'd win the battle. The boy was easily to convince. Everything would work in his way.  
  
"They wouldn't." Harry finally said. Quietly, so that Tom had to strain his ears to even catch the mumble he had breathed. Straightening his back, Tom went on.  
  
"Maybe you'd like to see what it's like in Slytherin, Harry. Make up your mind. I could see to it that you spend some days as a Slytherin and no one would know. Not Dumbledore, not McGonagall, not your friend Ron."  
  
Harry felt like he was in trance. It felt so appealing to have a look around. Just to know if the hat had really made the right decision. If Riddle was right...If he wasn't enough to fulfil Gryffindor's usual standard... Making up his mind, Harry looked Tom in the eye. He wasn't afraid anymore. He wasn't going to let that chance slip through his fingers. Riddle could put him in the right place, he trusted him. He....trusted Riddle....  
  
"Show me. Tom. Show me."  
  
Tom smirked. Not visibily. He didn't want to arise Harry's suspictions. Smirked at his own performance and at the little gullible boy in front of him. So easily fooled. Tom laughed to himself as he picked Ginny in his arms and brought her to the ground, near his black diary.   
  
He fumbled around for his wand, found nothing, so he went for Ginny's wand instead. It was smaller than his by 2 inches and wouldn't work very well, but it'd have to do. Ollivanders had warned him not to work with any other wizard's wand, for the results might not be very pleasing. But there was no time to lose.   
  
He put a hand on Harry's shoulder, who refused to take his eyes off Tom.   
  
"Let the fun begin then." Harry whispered, not really feeling his feet, or his entire body at all for that matter.  
  
"Yes, see you around, Harry Potter," Tom hissed in his ear. He didn't care about hiding the venom and hatred which was threatening to escape ever since he had seen that skinny little brat enter the Chamber. Tom looked murderous. But before the frightened Harry could change his mind, Tom had cast a spell on Harry, who promptly vanished out of sight. If all went well, Tom would've never have to see that idiot again. His future self was avenged and now this time dimension was open to him.   
  
*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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